WWII Green Banana Wings

[MikeK]

Hi,

 

Sorry to drag up a(n interesting) old thread, but the attached pin arrived recently (1-5/8" long). It reminded me of a yellow banana and I remembered reading about this old thread. The hardware and feathering details are very reminiscent of CBI items. Any chance this may be a relative/variant of the Green Banana wing?

 

Regards

Mike

 

PS: the attributed example in "More Silver Wings, Pinks and Greens" is also different to the example in the group this thread shows.

[BROBS]

yes I thnk your banana was green and has chipped/faded.

 

nice find!

-Brian

[mghcal]

I'm glad you restarted this thread. I'd never seen it before and wouldn't have known what the heck a banana wing was lol. Congrats on the find!

[will m.]

To me it appears they were "long haulers" moving cargo from the Middle East to India......not much to do with the Hump and little to do with the CBI..........not demeaning........I think it's tougher finding material from these "backwater" units than the more glamorous groups and squadrons. Maybe some continued research will yield the exact unit.............

At the end of 1943 the Africa-Middle East Wing of the Air Transport Command was split into Central African and North African wings, with Maj. (later Lt. Col.) James W. Brown and Lt. Col. (later Col.) Clarence A. Tinsman, the respective surgeons.
It appears this person flying with ATC in the Africa.

Tom

 

[bschwartz]

I just recently acquired these cap size Green Banana wings that will take a special place in my collection.  If you've never seen or heard of these before these are unofficial wings that were worn by pilots who flew C-46/C-47s over the Hump.  There was another post on the forum several years ago with a larger 2" size wing of similar construction.  These are very rare items so I'm thrilled to even get a cap size version.  Luckily the enamel is in very good condition as is the wing overall.  I got them directly from a veteran's family but unfortunately they don't really have the history as to how he acquired them.  Both the father and father-in-law served during the war and I did find out this morning that the father was a pilot but not in the CBI.  Must have been some wing trading going on at some point in his career.  

 

 

[cwnorma]

Bob,

 

Really outstanding example of a very rare wing badge.

 

Congratulations!

 

Chris

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Sooooo elusive! Congratulations Bob. Great addition.

[manayunkman]

First time I’ve seen this!

 

Very interesting artistry by the makers of these 2 wings.

 

The one that started this post has a faux filigree look that reminds me of my time in India...there I was....

 

The banana detail is outstanding!
 

Those guys took this banana deal seriously.

[Tesla]

Awesome wing Bob!  Congrats!

[LuftStalg1]

WOW!

[rathbonemuseum.com]

I have been looking into this topic and wanted to add my thoughts and speculations here as well. Just looking at the veteran's material in the OP's pictures, I do agree that the CAFW stands for Central Africa Ferrying Wing. The ADEN and KARACHi support that this was the Eastbound route, based out of Khartoum, that traveled to Aden and connected with Karachi, as indicated on this C-46 page:

http://curtisscommando.e-monsite.com/pages/operators/military-government-operators/usa/usaaf-united-states-army-air-forces/air-transport-command/central-african-wing-division.html

 

The evidence of the two cities and the CAFW ID bracelet leads me to believe that this was a very long route and one of a particular character. The fact that the green banana is also on the ID bracelet leads me to believe this is the unofficial symbol of the CAFW based in Khartoum or of the route. Something to do with that part of world. I do not believe that CAFW has anything to do with China or Chinese Air Force in this context. Once we connect the green banana to Africa or Central Africa Ferrying Wing or this eastbound route out of Khartoum, we see the ring with a flying green banana, "AMA", "Karachi 43", "Aden 44". This lines up with the establishment of the CAFW in June of 43 and the eastbound route through Aden and then Karachi from Khartoum. I would then speculate that AMA was an acronym for Africa-Middle East-Asia as those are the regions covered by the route. It would be similar to the CBI designation for China-Burma-India. Given the green banana is on both items, I think this adds evidence to the symbol being for the route or guys in the CAFW. This is also supported by Khartoum, Sudan being a large producer of green bananas. The double meaning of the banana being a big green phallus also probably indicates GI humor about their feelings of flying this route. I have found no evidence of green bananas being flown as cargo.

 

This would take veteran notes, stories or period pics or writings to substantiate. So a theory for now.

 

Cheers,

Tod

[rathbonemuseum.com]

From Flying Tiger Antiques, an AMA flying green banana patch that the supports the idea this was for contract/ATC pilots flying the Africa-Middle East-Asia (AMA) route.

 

[ponyradish]

Holy smokes, great stuff. Pony.